WASHINGTON, January 26. /TASS/. The US will stand by the NATO’s open doors policy, but is prepared to hold talks with Russia on arms control in Europe and transparency of military exercises. That’s according to the US written response to Russia’s security proposals that was outlined by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at a news conference on Wednesday.
US doesn’t want to make the response public
Blinken spokes about the broad outlines of the US replies. The Americans won’t make them public and are urging Russia to do the same. The US says the response isn’t a formal document but a set of ideas for further discussion, if Russia wants to continue dialogue.
"There’s no doubt in my mind that if Russia were to approach this seriously, and in a spirit of reciprocity, with the determination to enhance collective security for all of us, there are very positive things in this document that should be pursued," he said.
Washington says the ball is now in the Russian court and it’s now up to Moscow to choose discussions or a confrontation. The response has been coordinated with US allies and Ukraine.
NATO expansion is still an option
Blinken stressed the US won’t give up the policy of keeping NATO’s doors open. He reiterated that point several times throughout the news conference as he fielded questions from reporters.
US, Russia could discuss missiles in Europe
Blinken said the document sets out possible areas of cooperation between the US and Russia for improving European security. The areas include missile deployment in Ukraine, military exercises in Europe, potential arms control measures, higher transparency, and risk reduction measures.
What’s next
Blinken said he expects to hold further talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in the next few days to get Russian feedback. The US Congress has also been given a copy of the response and Blinken will discuss it with lawmakers on Wednesday.
The US will continue to supply weapons to Ukraine, the secretary of state said.